February 9, 201411 yr Author It's the weekend so it must be time for another update.... This update comes in 2 parts (still waiting for a Bricklink order to finish it off!) and concerns 2 local residents... Mike and his wife Jo... Here they are. They've lived in Ballabreek for most of their lives... Jo has a part time job in the pizza place while Mike made the daily commute to the nearby town. Until that is, he recently lost his job! However, as you can see, he's not worried because he has a plan!! Step 1: Pop into the local bank. Step 2: Withdraw your life savings Step 3: Pay a visit to "Diamond" Dave's Used Car Lot (putting the "you" into used vehicles!!) and make your business dream a reality. Step 4: Drive your new investment home while picturing the look on your wife's face when she sees what a genius you are. Step 5: Ah... Step 6: Realise that not everyone can recognise genius (and the excuse "It worked for the Ghostbusters" isn't going to help!) So will Mike make his business dream a reality or will Jo make him sleep on the sofa forever? Watch ths space to find out!! Thanks for looking... And as always comments are more than welcome. Edited February 9, 201411 yr by greg3
February 9, 201411 yr Author Thanks for the comments... What is Jo's torso from? That torso has been in a few City sets.... This one was in the airline exclusive car and glider set from a couple of years ago, but it's also in this year's camper van set (probably in other sets too)
February 9, 201411 yr I always enjoy your story telling 'greg3'.......I say good luck to your friend there.......with his wife unimpressed, he's going to need it ! Brick On 'greg3' !
February 16, 201411 yr Author So, has Mike got back into Jo's good books? Well after a lot of hard work... yes he has!! Turning the wreck he bought last week... Into.... An ice cream van!!! (Jo's dad was an ice cream salesman and she'd always wanted to follow in his footsteps - added to which, Mike painting the van in her favourite colour (pink) means he can consider himself well and truly forgiven!) I recently got the Lego Movie Ice Cream Machine set but decided that although the van looked cool it was too big for my layout (towering as it did over many of the buildings!!) So I've produce a "hybrid" by mixing its parts with the ambulance set (and adding a few extra bits!) Inside it has a freezer, soft ice cream machine, storage for cones and hand washing facilities. Now it might still be a couple of months until "ice cream" weather arrives, but Mike and Jo have been already been out drumming up trade from the locals... Thanks for looking, comments are always welcome.
February 16, 201411 yr Nice! I knew that the name Jo was from somewhere familiar, keep up the good work!
February 16, 201411 yr Oil flavoured ice cream ! No, seriously it's a great ice cream van 'greg3'.......keep up the cool work and Brick On !
February 17, 201411 yr I seen that Octan ice cream, so I was thinking, what would a real life equivalant be? Shell ice cream? It might satify the oil sheiks in the desert, but me? No thanks. No oil-flavoured- or oil-flavored ice cream 4 me. Suggestion: You shoulda wrote Ice Cream backwards on the front.
October 26, 201410 yr Author Ballabreek is back!!! (After spending several months disassembled and stored in boxes while building work was being carried out on my apartment block!) Anyway, this weekend has been spent putting the village back together (which was harder than I thought... Next time I need to take more photos before I take it apart!) It's pretty much as it was, but I have taken the opportunity to alter the beach area. The old open air swimming pool has been partly decked over to provide a space for various displays, entertainments and other community events (kind of inspired by traditional seaside piers) DSC03688 by g.nat, on Flickr DSC03691 by g.nat, on Flickr At the moment it's being used to host a "Family Fun Day" with local children's entertainers providing the fun! DSC03692 by g.nat, on Flickr There are also some new arrivals to the village.... But more about those another time.... DSC03693 by g.nat, on Flickr Thanks for looking.... Comments welcome as always. Edited October 26, 201410 yr by greg3
October 26, 201410 yr Who ya gonna call ? Long no hear from you 'greg3'........I like the 21st. century style Ghostbusters vehicles......Brick On !
October 26, 201410 yr Great to have you and Ballabreek back, greg3. I look forward to see what has happened in Ballabreek this year.
October 26, 201410 yr It's good to see Ballabreek back! I'm going to book my holidays there for next Summer...
October 28, 201410 yr Author Thanks for the comments... It is nice to have Ballabreek back!! Now making up for lost time, here's another quick "mini update"... Following on from the post earlier in the topic about the Unikitty inspired "Kitty Parade", today has seen the Kitties on display for the last time. The event has given locals a last chance to see them (and meet their creator Mrs Scratchen Post) before the "art works" are auctioned off for charity just like the real life animal sculptures usually are. image by g.nat, on Flickr image by g.nat, on Flickr Unfortunately my great plans to create loads of Kitties never actually happened but I have added a Loch Ness Kitty and a finished off Despicable Kitty to those shown previously. image by g.nat, on Flickr image by g.nat, on Flickr Finally a group shot... image by g.nat, on Flickr Seeing the recent topic about the Creations for Charity fundraiser, I've decided to donate the Kitties to help raise money for underprivileged children this Christmas. They should be appearing in their Bricklink shop soon!! Thanks for looking. Edited October 28, 201410 yr by greg3
October 28, 201410 yr It's good to see a new update,it's been a while. Lochness kitty is my favorite....can't think why. Edited October 28, 201410 yr by Alasdair Ryan
October 31, 201410 yr Author As it's October the 31st, this update has a suitably "spooky" theme... As this year the people of Ballabreek have been entertained by "Jinny the Witch's Scare Fair!!" Roll up, get your tickets here!! DSC03726 by g.nat, on Flickr Zombie balloon seller DSC03725 by g.nat, on Flickr Traditional duck apple... Retrieve an apple from a bowl of water using only your teeth!! DSC03716 by g.nat, on Flickr Test your strength on the "Bash the Bat" challenge!! DSC03718 by g.nat, on Flickr Then "Dunk Dracula" in some suspicious green goo!! DSC03719 by g.nat, on Flickr If all that's not exciting enough, then you can watch the fire show... Fire breathers and jugglers. DSC03721 by g.nat, on Flickr Don't worry, the coastguard and fire brigade are there just in case!! DSC03723 by g.nat, on Flickr Overview DSC03714 by g.nat, on Flickr Of course, as they're in the Isle of Man, the locals of Ballabreek wouldn't dream of calling this a Halloween show. Instead the 31st of October is known Hop-tu-naa, a festival that dates back to Celtic times. Originally a celebration marking the new year, it's only in recent times that it has begun to incorporate aspects of Halloween (but still with a local twist). Lanterns are carved from turnips (pumpkins are considered to be for wimps! (If you're tried hollowing out a turnip you'd know why!!)) and rather than "trick or treat" children go from door to door singing Hop-tu-naa songs (the most common being about Jinny the witch, a local woman who was tried for witchcraft). But that would have made for a bit of a boring display so I decided to spice it up a bit and incorporate a MODed version of the Mixer fairground!! Thanks for looking and happy Hop-tu-naa.... Or Halloween if you prefer!! Edited October 31, 201410 yr by greg3
November 2, 201410 yr I'm glad to see that Ballabreek is up and running again! I love seeing the stories in addition to the building updates and Ballabreek has served as a source of inspiration for my own Lego town, Bricksburg. The Fairground Mixer Halloween mod is really clever; I especially liked the bat strength tester, well done!
December 23, 201410 yr Author A quick festive update!! Well with one thing and another, it's been a very quiet year for the citizens of Ballabreek and it's ending that way too with a nice peaceful Christmas. The tree is up in the park Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr The church has set up a couple of displays outside, depicting scenes from the nativity. Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr Finally an ice skating rink has been set up near the beach for the enjoyment of the locals. Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr Bonus pics (close ups of the nativity scenes) I've seen a few versions on here in the past and thought they'd make a good addition to the small church. I based them on popular carols! Away in a manger/We three kings DSC03732 by g.nat, on Flickr Hark the herald angels/While shepherds watch their flocks by night DSC03736 by g.nat, on Flickr Thanks for looking - and Happy Christmas!!!
December 26, 201410 yr Author Well today is Boxing Day (St Stephen's Day) which means only one thing in Ballabreek.... It's time to "Hunt the Wren"! Hunting the wren is a ancient local tradition that is similar to those celebrated in parts of Ireland, Engand and even areas of France. In the past, local boys and young men would set off on the morning of St Stephen's day to hunt a wren. The unfortunate bird would then be tied to a pole and paraded around local villages. People would be given feathers from the wren as they were believed to give good luck and protection from witchcraft and drowning! There would then be lots of feasting and drinking (any excuse!!) Nowadays the wren has been replaced with a pole decorated with evergreen plants (often with a fake bird in the centre) and is paraded around the local streets. DSC03737 by g.nat, on Flickr DSC03739 by g.nat, on Flickr The parade ends with people gathering around the pole to sing and dance a traditional song that tells the tale of a wren hunt. DSC03745 by g.nat, on Flickr DSC03747 by g.nat, on Flickr The Wren Pole (this was a quick attempt, next year I might work on improving the design!!) DSC03752 by g.nat, on Flickr More info on the tradition can be found here http://www.bbc.co.uk/isleofman/content/articles/2005/12/07/hunting_the_wren_feature.shtml Thanks for looking... And enjoy the rest of the holidays from me and all the minifigs in Ballabreek. (They'll be back in 2015!)
December 26, 201410 yr Nice work there 'greg3'......I can't wait to what you'll bring out in 2015.......Brick On !
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